On July 29 I visited Pitanga and saw the aquarium with the beautiful fishes. They moved endlessly like a perpetual mobile. The souls of Aurovilians who passed away perhaps move permanently too before they find the bodies for their new incarnations. I saw one fish and suddenly before me appeared a smile – of course it was a kind Marika’s smile. It was separate from the body like the Cheshire cat’s smile. Marika’s soul, her spirit was in the corridors of Pitanga, in the rooms and outside of the building. The souls are immortal and many of them are now among us. What are they doing? I felt that Marika’s soul creates a good atmosphere, it wants to help – and helps really. Maybe Marika’s soul wasn’t happy about the very lapidary information about her published in N&N on 9.7. But in the next issue there was a more detailed Paulette’s text. And without doubt Marika’s soul received joy from the excellent photos of Paulette’s exhibition in Pitanga (July-August). Many children and flowers are in those photographs.

What can the souls do without a body? They can do a lot. I arrived in Auroville in 1991 from the Soviet Union and the first years were difficult for me. But I definitely knew that the souls of my parents and of my elder brother (they passed away a long time ago) arrived in Auroville and helped me through different people. I had many signs of it. Once I went to Chennai (to the Russian Consulate) for the prolongation of my passport. Before this journey I had talked with Auroculture (she then lived in Aspiration). I said: “They will refuse to extend my passport, I’m sure”. Auroculture answered: “Read Savitri, write the letter for the Mother, put it before her photo-portrait. Be sure you will have success.” I did it and the Russian Consulate in Chennai gave me my passport. They returned it with the words: “We cannot do anything for you”. I asked: “Can the situation change in the future?” – “Yes, somebody will arrive from Delhi after three weeks, phone to us at that time”. I answered: “I will sit here and wait” – “But after three weeks!” – “I will wait here”. They took my passport again and extended it. Thank you, dear Auroculture as well as the souls of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother!